Carpooling
by BloodRedFetish
Summary: Carpooling - great idea. Just so long as there's enough seats for everyone. (Slash)
1. In the car (Tai)

Carpooling and Acoustics  
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Written by Kiit Marlowe.  
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. If they did d'you think I'd be writing fanfiction? Nah, I'd be doing a Mimi and shopping..... (Yup, this is my standard disclaimer now. I really can't be bothered to think of another one.)  
For those of you who bother to read my disclaimers might remember the boring crush saga that I was rambling on about in the last couple. My Jackass split with his girlfriend, and promptly went back to worshiping a girl way out of his league as he has done for the past three years. On the positive side, we're actually speaking again.  
Sue me and I'll be forced to write a complete history of my (Failed) love life. You have been warned.  
Contains some Taito, Sochi (Not Taiora) Jymi  
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Carpooling's a great idea. Absolutely fantastic idea. The only thing is, you need to make sure there's enough seats for everyone.   
  
It was Mimi's seventeenth birthday, and we were all heading out to a posh resturant. She and Willis had flown over from America, so this pushed up the seating numbers. Mimi herself, Sora, Hikari and Miyako had all piled into a taxi and they had no problems in getting home. The idea for us 'lads' was to squash ourselves in Jyou's explorer and as he was completely teetotal (Mr Reliability and all that) we'd be home dry. Izzy called shogun, Willis and Takeru settled in the boot seats chattering away. That just left Iori in the middle seat, Ken and Daisuke on the right hand side, not exactly legal but nevermind, with all the presents and drink squished between me and Iori. It was a bit of a tight fit but we fit. Perfect. We were all ready to leave when Yamato arrived, slightly out of breath and bearing a perfectly wrapped present, bottle of vodka and acoustic.  
  
"Dammit, knew we'd forgotten something." Takeru deadpanned from the boot. The guitar was hastily passed to him, along with the gift, although it was noted that the drink was not relinquished.  
  
"We're going to be late!" Jyou panicked.  
  
I chuckled a little at this. Ever since Mimi came back he's been desperate to spend as much time as he possibly can with her. Funny that. "Two trips?" I asked.  
  
"NO! No one else is driving this and I'm not coming back again. It's a half hour journey."  
  
"Looks like you'll have to walk Ishida." I told him grinning, and was rewarded by a glare and him clambering into the car.  
  
"Shift over." He commanded. We all stared at him.  
  
"Into what space?" Daisuke asked. You could see the cogs turning behind the blue eyes as he assessed the situation.   
  
"Oh, just damn well sit on Taichi." Jyou growled. Yamato opened his mouth to complain. "Or else you can bloody walk." He closed his mouth, slammed the car door churlishly and settled onto my lap, pressed up against the side and ducking his head a little so that he merely brushed the roof. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" We set off.   
  
"Define 'hard'." Yamato commented bitterly. Both Takeru and Daisuke cracked up at this. "And no, not in that area. Sickos."  
  
Willis eyed us contemptatively, craning his neck over the seat. "Have you two ever been, well, 'involved'?"  
  
I let Yama handle this one. He was in a bad mood anyway. "What the hell makes you ask that?" Jyou sped round a corner at this exact moment and in one of those cruel twists of fate, I grabbed him round the waist as he clutched hold of my shoulders so that he didn't fly onto the floor. Willis smiled knowingly. "I was gonna end up on his feet, alright?!?"  
  
"It's just that you two are so... There for each other all the time."  
  
Yamato rolled his eyes at me. "We're best friends." I qualified. "I don't like my feet being squished either. Anyways, we're really different."  
  
"Opposites attract." Iori said seriously.  
  
"It's accurate to say that antagonistic qualities often result in a favourable alliance." Izzy chipped in.  
  
Yamato gave them a death stare and unscrewed his bottle. "Knew I was going to need this." He took a wonderfully long and remarkably elegant swig before offering it to me. Nodding approval as I drank he continued. "We are not 'together'. We are not anything more than comrades and friends.We fight, both with each other and against evil. Hah! I sound like a comic book hero!"  
  
"Yeah, you da man." I deadpanned. He clouted me one. I mussed up his hair. We were equal.  
  
"Tai, do you always have to get my hair?" He pouted. "It takes so long to do. Anyways, there has not, is not and never will be a joining of souls or whatever romantic spin you want to put on-"  
  
"Hopping on the good foot and doing the bad thing?" Takeru enquired innocently.  
  
"Keru..." Yamato snarled, as everyone else laughed their heads off.  
  
"There was a joining of your digimon though. That's kinda symbolic." Ken said quietly. The indigo haired boy watched our reactions with interest.  
  
"We also became digital and were absorbed into a computer. It wasn't romantic." I explained.  
  
"Although all that soft lighting and the angelic glow coming off of us was kinda like candlelight if you squinted hard enough." Yamato commented acidically.  
  
It was weird how they'd started to ask all those questions you want to know the answers to but never had the chance to ask. Yamato shuffled awkwardly on my lap. I tighted my hold on his waist as we screech stopped at a red light. The presents weren't as lucky. They cannoned forward, raining around Izzy's ears. Jyou appologised and set off a little more calmly. Takeru began to play a riff on the acoustic as Ken and Daisuke chattered softly and I drifted off into thought.  
  
"So, you two have never even considered kissing?" Willis's clear voice cut through my musing. The silence was absolutely amazing. I glanced at Yamato, expecting him to be in the same state of wide eyed, slack jawed shock.  
  
"Honestly?" He asked. Willis, and all the others, nodded eagerly. "Not Tai. I have thought about kissing other guys, but..." he shrugged. "Don't really do a lot of kissing."  
  
They all swiveled round to look at me. "I... Well, not before now..."  
  
Yamato grinned at me. "So you are considering it now?"  
  
"Yama..." I growled. Then a thought hit me. "Why 'Not Tai'? What, am I not good enough for you?"  
  
I heard Daisuke's whispered, "Bitch fight ahead." but chose to ignore it.   
  
Yamato raised an eyebrow. "I just never thought of you in that way. But, as we are meditating the matter now, I wouldn't want to."  
  
"Why not?" Ken asked, by now completely enthralled.  
  
"Have you ever been punched by Tai? No, well then, let me explain. Whenever we tustle, he always ends up on top. Teeks, drag your mind out of the gutter and quit laughing okay? So kissing Taichi would be like that. All aggression and absolutely no tenderness."  
  
"Still in the room." I commented bitterly. Boy, he was giving this a lot of thought. Would I really be that bad? I mean, okay I hadn't kissed anyone, ever, but I wasn't going to admit this, ever. But I could do gentle. Dammit, I could do gentle if it was the last thing I ever did! Anyways, this guy packs a punch as well. If I remember rightly he tried to damn well kill me.   
  
Iori turned to me. "Would you kiss Yamato?"  
  
"Not anymore I bloody wouldn't." Daisuke chuckled. "Anyway, what would be the difference between kissing him and a girl? You look like a girl." I told him.  
  
"At least my comments were contructive." He threw back, attempting to look threatening from his oh-so-scary position balanced on my knees with his arm wrapped round my neck.   
  
"How do know there'd be no tenderness?"  
  
"How do you know I'd kiss like a girl?"  
  
We eyeballed each other, faces close enough that I could smell the shampoo Yamato used. Then he smiled.  
  
"Guess we really managed to hit exactly what we're paranoid about." The tension broke. "Do you really think I look like a woman?" He asked anxiously.  
  
"You're a little, well, effeminate." I picked up his hand to illustrate my point, stroking down his long fingers until I reached the blue nails. "Nailpolish and eyeliner are generally equated with the female of the species."  
  
"Admit it, he's more deadly than you Taichi." Takeru quipped, earning a glare from everyone at the bad pun.  
  
"Oh." Yamato looked crestfallen. "Oh, right."  
  
"Don't worry," I whispered into his ear, tucking a strand of golden hair behind. "It suits you. You always look really sexy."  
  
"You think I look sexy?" He asked quietly, turning those massive blue eyes on me. I could taste his aftershave and the indefinable smell that is Yamato.  
  
"You are sexy." I breathed.   
  
The hand on my neck tightened as I closed the distance between us, capturing Yamato's lips with my own. Soft and yielding, they parted gently to allow my tongue to carress his lower lip. The whoops of excitement from the others rang in my ears. Entangling my fingers in his gorgeous blonde hair I felt him snuggling in to me. I had no idea what I was doing but by just allowing instinct to rule I was enjoying it. It felt like sliding two jigsaw pieces together. Like it was meant to be.  
  
Reluctantly parting with a sigh, I risked looking at Yamato's reaction. He still had his eyes closed and those elegant fingers rested delicately on the back of my neck. "Okay, I was wrong about the tenderness." He commented huskily for all and sundry. "How about me? Do I kiss like a girl?"  
  
"Wouldn't know." I added breezily. "Never kissed a girl."   
  
One saphire eye opened slowly. Then the other. He snickered wickedly. "Always a first time..." We turned the corner into the carpark. As everyone scrambled out and started unloading the presents, Yamato propelled me toward Sora. "Go on. Kiss her."  
  
"What?!?" I asked. Hang on a second here, I've just kissed him. And kinda enjoyed it to say the least. And now he wanted me to kiss Sora.  
  
"Go on." He nudged me.  
  
So I did.  
  
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	2. In the resturant (Wallace)

After we piled out the car, I was feeling pretty impressed with myself. It was obvious that Yamato and Taichi had some unresolved electricity between them, and I was glad to have brought it up. For all of six and a half seconds, when Taichi started to kiss Sora.  
  
"What the hell?" I queried.  
  
"Well, they were destined to be together." Yamato commented before strolling into the resturant.   
  
I stood and gawped for a couple of seconds. "C'mon Willis." Miyako prompted as we made our way in. I sat opposite Sora, Tai and Yamato. In that order. Sora had this dazed look on her face, resembling a gutted fish actually, whereas Yamato looked ever-so-slightly pissed off. Taichi didn't seem to have the foggiest idea what was going on. The meal dragged in awkwardness, with Yamato hitting his bottle of vodka very early on.  
  
"Don't worry about it." Takeru whispered, catching my anxious look at his brother. "Yama drinks alot. He can handle tonight a hell of alot better with it than without. Anyhow, it'll take him another bottle at least before he starts to get drunk."  
  
"He does this regularly?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah." Takeru sighed. "Although it's better than him slashing his arms or starving himself...."  
  
"He did?"  
  
"Uh huh. He's a little bit messed up. I think that the whole thing in the car just tipped him a tad."  
  
"I'm sorry..."  
  
"Hey, don't worry. You weren't to know. Only, please don't mention it to any of the others. I only told you this cause you looked like you were about to put your foot in it with him."  
  
"Does Taichi know?"  
  
"I highly doubt it."  
  
Yamato glanced across the table at us, seeming to know what we were discussing. He stood, walked round to whisper something in Takeru's ear and then sauntered toward the bar. We all watched as he proceeded to chat up the barmaid and within two minutes had a triple shot of Archers in one hand and her in the other.  
  
"How does he do it?" Daisuke marvelled, eyes wide as the girl planted a kiss on Yamato's nose. "Everywhere we go..."  
  
"Yeah, do you remember the time he managed to get picked up as a prostitute? We were only what, twelve?" Jyou added.   
  
"Eleven." Taichi corrected absentmindedly. "I'd forgotten about that."  
  
"'At least my cat's not stuck in a tree'." Hikari reminded her brother.  
  
"Oh, so that's where the line comes from. Always wondered." Ken looked pleased. "There's so many 'in' jokes I just don't get."  
  
I smiled over at him sympathetically. At least he wasn't stuck out all on his own in a completely different country. But then again, his eyes seemed to say, at least you didn't try to kill everyone sitting around this exact table. Okay, so maybe he was winning in the sucky life stakes.  
  
The barmaid got up reluctantly as her boss headed over. Yamato decided to chat her up too, and succeeded in convincing the fifty year old woman to part with a pint of Guiness and allow him to kiss her on the cheek. Then he went back to the barmaid.  
  
"What is he trying to prove?" Taichi growled.   
  
"Nothing Tai. He has no alterior motive. Calm." Sora said, twining her fingers through his. Taichi yanked his hand away and stalked off to the bathroom, throwing Yamato a glare for good measure.  
  
The others all began to finish up their coffees and the girls' taxi arrived. I glanced over at Sora, feeling infinitely sorry for her, but Izzy had been quicker and was quietly comforting her.  
  
Daisuke was feeling a little reflective. So he decided to share it with the rest of us. "Wow, Tai's been weird tonight. First that whole 'involvement' thing in the car-"  
  
"What 'involvement' thing?" Miyako asked Daisuke. I could feel the tips of my ears going red and both Takeru and I attempted to kick him under the table. No such luck.  
  
Dai took a large swig of his cappuccino and carried on oblivious. "Oh, Willis was askin' loadsa stuff and he an' Yamato ended up seeing what they kissed like."  
  
Sora balked. "He-my..Taichi?!?" She asked incredulously. And off she flew, Mimi, Hikari and Miyako hot on her heels. We had a front row view of Sora slapping Yamato. Hard. "You little slut!"  
  
"Is this your girlfriend?" The barmaid asked. "Girl, I wouldn't. He's a hottie."  
  
"I can't believe you, you, you harlot!" Sora screamed, slapping him again.  
  
Yamato eyed her coolly. "Wow Sora. I'm impressed. Never been called that before. Ten points by the way."  
  
"Is that all you can say? You've ruined my life! You've corrupted him!"  
  
"Hey, steady on sweetheart. I haven't corrupted no one." The barmaid interjected.  
  
The girls had hustled Sora into the taxi but the shrieking, flailing girl had attracted the attention of a couple of the drunks, who decided to come and 'avenge' Sora. Or at least, I think that was what they were doing. All fourteen of them. Anyhow, it resulted in Yamato being dragged outside in the resulting chaos and by the time any of us had realised exactly what was going on he was pretty beaten up. I hadn't thought it possible to do that much damage in just a few short minutes, but these guys knew what they were doing. Profesional thugs.  
  
Taichi ran out of the resturant as we were trying to get the boozers off Yamato. He went completely mad, throwing punches and generally scaring the hell out of them. They slunk off, partly terrified by Hurricane Yagami and partly because the bouncers from the club next door decided to come sort it out, thanks to Ken.  
  
Yamato himself was just propped up against the wall, staring blankly back at us with blood trickling down from his forehead and nose. He gave Takeru a small smile. "Are we going home now?"  
  
"Oh yeah, Oniisan." Takeru reached down and handed him his jacket. "Come on. Far too much trouble for one evening."   
  
Yamato began to get up, and then thought better of it. Taichi sighed and helped him to his feet. "Come on you." He led Yamato back to the car, arm looped around his shoulders.  
  
We all clambered back into the car, Iori squishing between me and Takeru in the boot so that Yamato could sit properly. But Taichi wouldn't let him go. He held the blonde in his arms as Jyou set off, wiping the blood off his face and stoking his hair out of his eyes.  
  
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	3. After the resturant carpark and in the C...

Well, that was a fun night. I curled up in Tai's arms, wishing I was at home on my own so I could cry my eyes out and do something I'd regret the next day. I'd left the vodka in the resturant.   
  
"Dammit." I muttered into Taichi's shoulder.  
  
"'Dammit' what?" He asked me quietly. "Yama, what's wrong? You can tell me, y'know?"  
  
I could have hit him. Should've done. Instead I let out a bitter chuckle. What's wrong? Oh, uh, nothing much. I'm completely reliant on alcohol, I've lost almost four stone in weight, My wrists look like a map of the underground, I've tried to kill myself three times in the last month-  
  
Taichi shook me fiercely. "Never, Ever, EVER do anything like that to yourself ever again. Do you hear me?" I'm an idiot. I spoke out loud. Oh well. I think the punch to my head has affected me more than I thought. Or the vodka. Anyhow, his vice grip on my mincemeat shoulders was hurting like Hades.  
  
"What the hell do you care?" I asked, half in anger and half just plain self pity. He tilted my face up so he could stare me out with those gorgeous chocolate eyes. And those cheekbones. And the soft, possesive lips. It was worth being pounded into jelly; even worth making Sora hate me forever; just to know what those lips felt like. God knows I've been fantasing about that enough. My shrink thinks that I have a 'deep, unresolved connection with someone whom I feel inadaquate to' No shit Sherlock.  
  
I started babbling. My thoughts were coming out in big choking sobs that racked the whole of my body and were for the most part incoherant. But I was also oddly detatched. I could see Takeru with that pained expression that came with the knowledge he couldn't help me. And the others looking on worriedly as Taichi rocked me back and forth.  
  
I let the darkness envelope that conciousness and drifted into the black velvet of peaceful numbness.  
  
Then I babbled some more, jerking myself back into self pity.  
  
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	4. In the Car again (Tai)

"I want to be home. I want to be home. I want to be home." His voice took on a more childlike edge than usual.  
  
"We're almost home." Takeru soothed.  
  
"I need Mum and Dad. But they don't need me." He choked out and the note of pure despair cut straight through my heart.  
  
The others were studiously attempting not to listen to the brothers and I silently thanked them for it. God Yamato, why didn't you tell me!?! My mind screamed at him, but all I could do was rock him in my arms and stoke his hair. His beautiful golden hair that was so soft and silky and matted with his own blood. 'He tried to kill himself' echoed through my mind repeatedly.  
  
"They don't need me, Takeru doesn't need me, the new team doesn't need me, The old team doesn't need me, Taichi doesn't want me..." He paused, realising his slight grammatical error. "Taichi doesn't need me." He corrected, calming slightly. "No one needs me, so I shouldn't to be here." The statement sounded like he'd convinced himself over and over until it rang true in his ears.   
  
"Jyou, stop the car." I commanded. He looked at me, puzzled, but didn't argue and pulled over into a petrol station. Takeru, with a flash of inspiration, hustled them all out the car and toward the tiny shop for yet more coffee.  
  
"Good luck."   
  
I turned to Yamato, who had shuffled over to the car door. "Right, you." I said sighing. "Oh, look at me Yamato. Of course I need you. You're my best friend. Can you imagine how much it kills me knowing you hurt yourself?" He sniffed slightly. I tried to be calmer. "And what do you mean by 'Taichi doesn't want me'?" I asked softly, scooting over to him and stoking his hair again.  
  
"Exactly that." He hiccupped. "You and Sora - you're destined to be together. Why would you... why would you want...want me?" Tears tricked down his face.  
  
"Why? Because we're friends. Because I can talk to you about anything. Because you're the only person you can make fun of me and be constructive about it. Because you're the only one who's ever gotten to me so much that I fought them. Because you trusted me, and no one ever has done. Because you're so complex and I can't ever figure you out no matter how hard I try. Because you're beautiful and holding you in my arms feels right, not like with Sora. Because of your kiss..." I paused for breath. "Because I've secretly had this crush on you for ages and I tried so hard not to wreak our friendship that you wouldn't ever have guessed. Because you're you. And I need you. And I want you."  
  
"Truly?" he asked, voice wavering and the disbelief evident.   
  
"Truly." I hugged him tightly, felt him relax into my arms. "Now, are you still hysterical?"  
  
"No." He sniffled, snuggling into my shoulder.  
  
I smiled at him. "Good. Cause I wouldn't want to be taking advantage of you." He flicked a glance up at me. "I'd just like to confirm that you don't kiss like a girl one more time, if that's okay by you?"   
  
'Okay' might have been an understatement. He nodded, blue eyes wide and still slightly doubting that he wasn't in some kind of drunken haze. I brushed his lips gently with my own, waiting for a reaction from him. I wasn't disappointed. His arms entwined around my neck as his soft lips pressed back. I could feel his sigh in my mouth as I drew him closer to me and caressed his hair. I paused, opening my eyes to check he was still okay with this. The expression of contentment confirmed my courage and I resumed kissing him, peppering a trail from his jawbone to his nose before returning to his mouth. He welcomed my tongue with his equally demanding own. A joining of souls he'd joked. Well, I wasn't laughing now. This was reality. 


End file.
